German villagers set up their own broadband network

Inhabitants of Löwenstedt, in northern Germany, lay their own fibre-optic
cables and set up their own broadband network after being told that their
village is too small and remote to be connected to broadband internet

Photo: Alamy

By Justin Huggler, Berlin

8:51AM BST 03 Jun 2014

When the telephone companies told the inhabitants of Löwenstedt, in northern Germany, that their village was too small and remote to be connected to broadband internet, the villagers refused to take no for an answer. If the companies wouldn’t get them online, they decided, they would do it themselves.

They formed their own company, laid their own fibre-optic cables, and set up their own broadband network.

Today Löwenstedtis the first village in a citizens’ broadband network that it is hoped will eventually reach 22,000 homes in 59 villages.

The project is a result of the unique geography of the Northern Friesland region, where people live in tiny villages of a few hundred houses, spread out over a wide area. Sometimes a house can be several miles from its nearest neighbour.

“It’s nothing new to people here to do things for themselves,” says Sabine Birkigt of Bürger Breitband Netz (Citizens’ Broadband Network), the company the villagers set-up.

“This is about preserving a culture and way of life. These villages will not survive without a broadband connection.” The entire company is run by five local women, who managed to raise â??2.5m in capital â?“ and now an internet service provider, TNG, is paying the villagers for the privilege of using their network.

The villagers got online by pooling their resources and working together.

First, those who wanted to take part were asked to pay at least €1,000 (£810) into the company -- €100 to become shareholders, and €900 as a loan.

Then, armed with start-up capital, the villagers negotiated a long-term bank loan. Ms Birgikt says the company expects to pay off its debts in 30 years.

No one was forced to join the scheme. The company needed at least 68 per cent of the villagers to take part to be viable, but in Löwenstedt more than 94 per cent agreed.

Now the company is rolling the model out across the region, and just signed a deal with its second village.